Revetment laying apparatus



Aug. 24, 1954 A. B. PICKETT REVETMENT LAYING APPARATUS Original FiledJuly 24, 194

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Andrew B. Pieter! 9 y My a Attorneys Aug. 24,1954 A. B. PICKETT 2,687,016

REVETMENT' LAYING APPARATUS Original Filed July 24, 194'. 6 Sheets-Sheet2 Inventor Andrew B. Pickett Fig. 2.

Aug. 24, 1954 A. B. PICKETT 2,637,016 REVETMENT LAYING APPARATUSOriginal Filed July 24, 194'? 6 Sheets-$h6et 3 Fig. 3.

Andrew 5. Pickett Aug. 24, 1954 A. B. PICKETT REVETMENT LAYING APPARATUSOriginal Filed July 24, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 ndrew B. Pickett By WWfi/nz A. B. PICKETT REVETMENT LAYING APPARATUS Aug. 24, 1954 2,687,016

Original Filed July 24, 194'? 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 6.

Andrew B. Picket I Inven for Aug. 24, 1954 A. B. PICKETT 2,687,016

REVETMENT LAYING APPARATUS Original Filed July 24, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6Andrew B; Pickett i gm Patented Aug. 24, 1954 REVETMENT LAYINGAPPARATUS.

Andrew B. Pickett, New Orleans, La. Original application July 24, 1947,Serial No.

7 63,202. Divided and 1949, Serial No. 100,132

15 Claims. I 1

This application is a divisional application and a continuation-in-partof my prior co-pending application Serial No. 763,202 for which PatentNo. 2,476,682 has been granted.

This invention relates to embankment and river bed protection and it hasfor its object to provide means for producing and laying revetments orother protective layers for protecting and/or constructing dams, dikes,levees, ditches, em-

bankments and similar structures or for repairing the same. i

In the above identified earlier application a method is described whichessentially consists in forming a substantially cohesive, but flexibleprotective mat or'mattress from independent and separate elements orblocks which are separately manufactured and afterwards brought into astate of adhesion.

The primary object of the present invention consists in providing aninstallation and apparatus for carrying the above characterized methodinto effect.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide afloating installation with apparatus for currently producing the abovementioned elements or blocks, for conveying said blocks or elements fromthe place at which they are produced directly to the place where therevetment or other embankment protection is to be laid and for dumpingthem onto the embankment or into the river bed or on the other surfaceto be protected in such a manner and under such conditions that acohesive mat or mattress is formed, the formation of a mattress or matbeing due to an installation, including means for simultaneously movingsaid production, dumping and transportation means at a predeterminedspeed over the surface to be covered by the protective layer orrevetment.

Another object of the invention consists in providing means forcontinuously producing the elements of the flexible mat forming therevetment, on a conveyor under temperature conditions securing atemperature of the elements at the place to which they have beenconveyed which is sufliciently high to produce an adhesion of theelements.

A further object of the invention consists in providing means forcontinuously and simultaneously producing a number of the said elementsat a relatively high temperature at which parts of these elements are ina viscous semi-fluid or fluid state in conveying these elementscontinuously to the place where they form the revetment and in coolingthem between these operations this application June 20,

to an extent which is sufficient to secure the retaining of theirshapewhile at the same time the temperature is still sufiiciently high toobtain adhesion between the elements a sufiicient extent of plasticityof the same.

A further object of the invention consists in providing an installationproducing elements which are hardened at the surface but which retain ahot core, forming a source of heat which is active for some time andwhich secures plasticity at the time of forming the mattress.

A further object of the invention consists in providing means for thecontinuous simultaneous production and for the continuous laying of anumber of such separate elements forming a cohesive flexible mattress,said means including a movable barge with a continuous conveyor, one endof which cooperates with means for producing the elements, while theother end of the conveyor is provided with means for discharging saidelements.

A further object of the invention consists in providing an installation,including a conveyor, on which the said elements may be produced from ahot fluid or semi-fluid mixture, means being provided on the conveyorfor cooling the outer surface of said elements directly by the action ofwater which is carried by the said conveyor.

A still further object of the invention consists in making the conveyormovable along the revetment 'laid and in providing means for regulatingthe speed at which the conveyor is moved.

Further objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed specification.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which theinstallation used in a specific case is shown schematically by way ofexample. It is however to be understood that the specific example shownis illustrative and serves the purpose of explaining the principle ofthe invention and the best mode of carrying the principle into effect.The example shown is therefore not to be regarded as limitative withrespect to the nature of the means employed or as exhaustive as regardsto possible modifications of the invention. Modifications of the exampleshown are therefore not necessarily departures from the essence of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevational side view of the plant for layingrevetments with its parts in position for water transportation.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the plant shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic elevational side view of a part of theinstallation, partly in section and showing the plant in workingposition.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the upper portion of theconveyor and beam illustrating the filling portion of the pans, partlyin section.

Figure 5 is a similar diagrammatic elevational view of the lower or tailend of the conveyor illustrating the dumping and depositing operation,partly in section.

Figure 6 is a partly sectional and elevational view through the lowersection of the conveyor, the section being taken along the line ii6 ofFigure 4.

Figure 7 is a plan view of one of the pans of the conveyor.

Figure 8 is an elevational view of one of the pans of the conveyor.

Figure 9 is an elevational sectional view of one of the pans of theconveyor, thesection being taken along line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is an elevational side view of one of the pans of theconveyor.

Figures 11 and 12 are sectional elevational views of one of the pans ofthe conveyor the sections being taken along lines II-H and I2i2 ofFigure 9 respectively.

Figure 13 is a sectional elevational view of a detail the section beingtaken along l3--i3 of Figure 8.

Figure 14 is a diagrammatic plan view of the plant when in place on thebank of a river.

In the above mentioned earlier co-pending application it has beenexplained that the method according to the present invention aims atproducing a revetment consisting of a more or less continuous layer ofelements adhering to each other, formed by separate elements or blocksdumped separately into the river bed or on the embankment in asystematic fashion. The adhesion between the blocks which forms acontinuous mattress from said separate elements is produced by theintimate connection between the manufacturing and laying process of theelements. A hot asphalt or bituminous mixture is introduced or pouredinto cooled pans forming part of the conveyor, immediately beforedumping said elements onto the place where the revetment has to be laidin an orderly fashion. The result of this process are blocks or elementsof asphalt bonded material formed and molded in the pans which byvirture of the cooling of the pans are almost solid on their surfacewhile still 'hot in their interior.

Preferably the process is so timed that the blocks cool to the requiredand desired extent by the combined action of the cooling in the pans andthe downward travel of the block or element through the water to theriver bed during the laying operation.

The blocks, when they have left the conveyor and have been laid on theriver bed or embankment are therefore still sufiiciently warm to stickto each other so that a continuous mat or mattress is formed and asufficient amount of plasticity is left on account of the hightemperature in the interior of each block or element to bend or toconform said elements to the shape of the base. The hot core will keepthe blocks or elements warm for some time and accommodation of the shapeto the adjacent elements. and to the shape of the river bed orembankment can continue until perfect adjustment is reached.

The above process described more fully in the aforesaid co-pendingapplication may preferably be carried out in such a way that the blocksare produced and formed in double walled pans which are cooled by theintroduction of water between the double walls and which form part of acontinuously moving conveyor traveling from a place above the surface ofthe water at which the pans are filled with the asphalt or bituminousmixture through the water to the place of the river bed or embankment atwhich the blocks are laid. The equipment used for this purpose isdiagrammatically illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 14. The endlessconveyor ill is mounted on a swingable boom II described below indetail, which is pivotally mounted on a U-shaped barge M carrying afeeding arrangement for the raw materials, generally indicated at i5. Tosupply the feeding arrangement 15 with raw materials, a number of cranesor derricks iii are mounted on the barge M having jib or feeder arms H6with buckets I H which may be dipped into the bins ll within barge itwhich has been moved alongside the U-shaped barge M.

The U-shaped barge M with the block produc ing and revetment layingplant is arranged alongside a row of mooring barges 2E! anchoredopposite the river bank by means of cables 2|. The said barges areprovided with a track or tracks 22 while the U-shaped barge is providedwith Outriggers or brackets carrying pulleys 24 running on said tracks.The movement of the barge M is preferably obtained by means of a cable25 running along the row of mooring barges 20 and over the barge M wherethe cable runs over and through a travel winch 26 by means of which thebarge I4 may be hauled along said cable. The Winch 26 may be driven byan electric motor (not shown). The construction of the mecha nism formoving the barge [4 along the mooring barges is not part of thisinvention and is well known in the art, so that it need not be describedor illustrated further.

It will be understood that the revetment laying plant on barge 5 may bemoved away from the river bank outwardly to a point 2? indicated indotted lines, when the end of the boom is above the toe of therevetment. It will also be understood from the foregoing descriptionthat the revetment is essentially produced on and by the boom II onbarge I4 and that when the latter is moved outwardly, a revetment stripof the width of the boom M will be produced. When the toe of therevetment has been reached, the row of mooring barges 20 is advanced anda further revetment strip is laid adjacent to the first strip, theentire revetment being thus built up or formed byaligned strips.

From the general description of the process it will be clear that theformation and production of the revetment strips takes place essentiallyby means of the elements produced on and laid by the U-shaped barge M.This barge comprises a longitudinal section 28 and two spaced transversesections 29 between which theboom H is inserted. In the longitudinalsection 28 means, such as the winch H9 and pulleys 126 are provided tohold the barge l8 alongside the section 28 of barge It and to shift itto any desired position.

The derricks l6 are so placed on the barge Ht that their jib arms H6,and buckets Ill may be swung over a number of bins I! on barge It. Thederricks must have access to all the bins of the barge l8 eitherdirectly, or, if necessary, after moving the said barge by means of thecable I2l. In the arrangement shown this result is obtained by means ofthe swinging jib .tions is at the end of the barge.

producing the mixture are dried and heated in the conventional mannerand the mixture is then loaded into the bin barge IE, the whole processbein approximately the same as that used for repairing roads or thelike. The mixture, in addition to sand and gravel may sometimes containa mineral filler such as powdered loess. The mixture is prepared at atemperature of a roximately 300 F. according to the usualpractice.

The feeding arrangement of the boom II consists in a numberoffeedinghoppers 32, two of saidhoppers being shown in Figure 2 by wayof example. The hoppers discharge the mixture into a feeding or screedbox 3-3. The screed box is an open box of elongated shape which runsacross the entire width of the boom II and towards the feed hoppers 32to which it is joined so that the material with which the hoppers 32 arecharged falls directly into the screed box. The

box may be open at the top and it is open at the bottom along thestretch located above the boom I I. This open side forms the dischargeend. The

box is provided with side walls converging towards the above mentioneddischarge end. It contains distributor 34, 34a in the shape of screwconveyors running along the box from the ends joined to the feed hopperstowards the middle, in order to distribute the hot mixture evenly overthe entire length of the box. The screw conveyors are driven by electricmotors (not shown).

A movable screeding shoe 35 may be provided, consisting of a verticalmember mm which is slidable along the vertical Wall of the screed box 33and which is held thereon and spaced horizontal shoe members I22 ridingon the flanges or partitions of the pans passing the screed box whichare described below. The vertical members E El are slidably held in amanner not shown on the screed box front wall.

The screcding shoe 35 is provided in order to screed off the mixturefilled into the conveyor pans. The screedin shoes may be vibrated orsome other well known tamping equipment may be used in order to secure aperfect screeding action. The screedin shoes are always resting on thepans to be filled and therefore bridge the gap between the pans and thebox which has to be left for obvious reasons.

As already mentioned the conveyor boom II carrying the conveyor ii] isarranged below the screed box #3. The conveyor boom consists of a hollowsupporting body 38 extending laterally across the space between the twosections 29 of barge Id while its longitudinal cross section iselongated and extends somewhat beyond the sec- The hollow body 38 asseen from Figure 3 may be made of a number of plates and girders joinedand riveted so as to form a unitary structure and it comprises anenlarged open head I23 at the top and a foot portion I24 consistin of anumber of floating compartments I25.

7 The boom is suspended on and swingable around a cylindrical hollowtrunnion I26 which Within reach of these arms the two feedis mounted inthe barge I4 between the two sections 29. The boom is swingably held fora rocking movement around said trunnion by means of bearings (I08, Fig.14) which are mounted on the outside on both sides of the boom. The headI23 of the boom has an arcuate portion I23a and is open so that it mayswing around the relatively stationary structure in its interior.

Along the boom II the conveyor is is arranged which consists essentiallyof a number of parallel endless chains 60 supporting pans 63, describedin detail below, between them. As seen from Figure 2, the transversedistance between. the chains is limited by the size of the pans which isdetermined by the size of the blocks so that a substantial number ofchains and of pans supported by them are required in order to cover theentire width occupied by the boom.

The chains are trained over sprocket wheels M, M. The sprocket wheels tIare mounted on a shaft 39- which acts as a drive shaft and which istherefore driven by an electric motor (not shown). This shaft isjournalled fixedly on the barge and is supported by bearings I559carried by members I21 by means of supporting ribs or webs I48. Themembers I21 are fixed to the trunnion I 26 by welding or in any othersuitable manner. This construction is however merely an example as theshaft I39 is a stationary shaft which may be supported on members carried by the barge in any other suitable manner.

On the lower end of the boom II another series of sprocket wheels 42 isarranged which are carried by a transverse shaft Ml supported by andheld on the boom I I.

The second series of sprocket wheels is driven by the chains.

Additional or intermediate sprocket wheels l lil are arranged on theouter side of the loop formed by the endless chain at the point at whichthe uppermost sections of the chains change their direction and arejoined to a section of the chain which is substantially parallel to theaxis of the boom. These sprocket wheels are all mounted on a traverseshaft I4 I.

The upper sections of the chains are moreover guided by means of guiderails I3 and M sup ported by ribs I41 and M8 which project from themembers I21 attached to or solidary with trunnions I26. The guide railI8 is provided with a straight and with an arcuate portion, the latterbeing concentric with the trunnion I23 and serving to guide the upperstretch of the chains towards the intermediate sprocket wheels are. Thelength of the are which is active and guides the chain varies inaccordance with the position of the boom with respect to the waterlevel.

The straight portion of the guides "it-in conjunction with the furtherguiding means described belowserves to guide the chains along asubstantially horizontal path located directly below the screed box 33.

A second guid rail M is provided on the opposite side of the trunnionI26 and is also of arcuate shape, the arc being concentric with thetrunnion. This guide rail serves to produce a change of direction of thechain when the boom I I is lifted. Guid rail "I l may be held by themembers I 2'! attached to the trunnion I26 by means of webs or ribs M8.

As seen in Figures 3 and 4, said chains which are parallel to the axisof the boom almost for their entire length are spreading in the headportion I23 of the boom, the directions of travel of the chain sectionsin the head portion forming a triangle. It will also be noted thattotheleft chain, as already mentioned, passes below the.

screed box and this section is substantially horizontal while all othersections may be inclined toward the horizontal at an angle correspondingto the lowermost position to which the boom may be lowered.

Further guide rails 75 are provided along the boom in order to guide thechain during its downward travel. The chains in order to ride along theguide rails without much friction may be provided with anti-frictionrollers M9 at their joints.

On the conveyor chains til the pans 63 are pivotally supported. Thesepans which are shown separately in Figures '7 to 13 consist of elongateddouble walled containers of oblong shape. They are subdivided intobuckets or compartments 64 with slightly tapering inner walls 6'!forming molds for the asphalt tiles or blocks. The partitions 65 betweenthe buckets or compartments are perforated as shown at 6% in Figure 12.Between the outer walls 61 of the pan and its inner walls a water jacketW6 is formed surrounding the buckets or molds on all sides.

The pans are provided with pivot axles ill which are positioned slightlyoff center with respect to the plan of symmetry with which they arepivotally mounted on the chains 50. The pans have therefore a tendencyto tilt slightly around said pivots in a loaded as well as in an emptycondition on account of the slight eccentricity of the pivot on the pan.Near their forward ends in the direction of motion the outer walls 68are provided with openings 69 from which water may enter during themovement of the pans along the chains. These openings are shown inFigure 13 and they may be provided with a projecting tubular sleeve 56carrying a screen mesh 58 to keep out floating objects.

The upper end of the outer wall 68 of the pan 6% may be provided with aflange H. The flange ll on the front end of the pan may be slightlydepressed so that, when two adjacent pans are aligned, the rear flang Haof one pan may cover the flange at the front end without tilting the panso that perfect alignment in a straight line is possible where theflanges are overlapping. Therefore, hot material dropping from the feedbox which was screeded off by the screed blade will not penetrate intothe space below the pans and will be pushed into the next pan during thepassage below the screed blade. However, a trough 92 may be providedbelow the pans which is equipped with a transverse belt conveyor 92acollecting the material falling through the gaps and conveying itoutside.

The compartments fi l of the pans may communicate with th outside bymeans of sleeves 93 with bores passing through the water jackets Hit.These bores prevent the formation of a vacuum which may tend tointerfere with the removal of the blocks from the pan.

The pans ar preferably provided with wear strips I29 with which theyslide on guide rails, described below, and which may be renewed whenworn out so as to protect the material of the container against beingworn out by friction.

As will be clear th pans 63 have to be held in predetermined positionswhile they travel from one end of the boom to the other and back to theupper end. The upper or head portion of th boom is the charging end inwhich the pans have to be guided to to adopt a predetermined position inorder to fill their water jackets with water and to keep them filled andfurther in order to align the pans in a substantially horizontalstraight line below the delivery slot of the screed box 33. Therefore inaddition to the chain guides M and "i8 pan guiding rails 16 are providedwhich are so positioned that the bottoms of the pans slide along saidguide rails while their pivots ill carried by the chains are guided bythe latter. 4

The guide rail l 6 therefore has two straight sections 16a and 611joined by an arcuate section, the first named section being arrangedbelow the screed box and providing guidance for a number of aligned pansduring the filling operation while the section 15b is arranged at anangle with respect to the first named section 16a and keeps the pan insuch a position that the openings 69 which permits the water to enterare upwardly directed. These guide rails also bring the pans into such aposition that their alignment on the stretch Ifia is facilitated.

The chain guide it and the pan guide 16 are made divergent to a slightextent behind the screed box so that the overlapping pans are separatedsuddenly to counteract a tendency to stick together.

A. further pan guiding rail I28 is arranged along the underside of theboom. H to keep the pans aligned while they are moved by the lower andascending section of the chain. A guiding plate or wall i28a facing theguiding rail I28 may be arranged on which the flanges or upper portionsof the pans may slide so that the pans are moved in the lower part ofthe boom through a channel formed in the boom body 38 which preventssagging of the chain and a consequent relative movement of the pans.Above the pans and in front of the feeding box 33 an oil spraying tube12 is arranged which provides the pans passing beneath it with a thinoil film, facilitating the detaching of the hot asphalt blocks formed inthe molds of the pans. The screed shoe 35 rests on the lateral flangesof the pan and in this position the edge of the front plate I2 la of thescreed box screeds off the material which has been emptied into the pansin such a manner that every pan is filled up to the flange so that aneven and smooth upper surface is formed.

A number of Water spraying tubes 73 are arranged behind the screed box33 to spray water on the upper surface of the asphalt filled pans toaccelerate the hardening of the mixture at this point.

On the stretch between the guide rails 1'8 and the sprocket wheel M8 andbetween the said sprocket wheel and the sprocket wheel M) at the bottomthe pans occupy a position on the chain which is only slightly inclinedwith respect to the horizontal. The pans are therefore always in such aposition that no marked tendency of the still somewhat fluid, viscoushot mixture to flow out of the pan manifests itself. The spraying ofwater on the surface hardening the crust forming at the surface willcontribute to build up resistance against the pouring out of the mixtureat the forward end. After a short while the water of the water jacketsand also the water spray covering the surface of the asphalt blocks has9 hardened the entire outer efiicient extent.

At the lower end of the boom It the pans 63 have to be tilted suddenlyin order to dump the asphalt blocks-onto the embankment or onto thesurface of block to an .mattress already formed by previously dumpedblocks. In order to tilt the pans in the desired way a pan guiding railE43 (Figure is provided which is curved in asuitable manner As seen inthe figure the block filled pans which are carried by a guided chain butare not guided themselves are in a slightly inclined position towardsthe horizontal plane passing through the pivots when they arrive at thelower end of the boom. .At this end the bottom of the pan which isslightly tilted is brought into contact with the straight section of theguide rail Mt which is substantially parallel to the chain running atthis point over the sprocket wheel 42. By virtue of the curvature of theguide rail I43 and of the pan again into a position in substantialparal-.

lelism with the chain while the latter, after having passed the sprocketwheel, moves again upwardly.

A further curved pan guiding surface I may be formed in the boom infront of the sprocket wheel facing the same and the chains which providea more positive movement of the pans by guiding the outer flange of thepans simultaneously while the bottom is sliding on the inner guidingrail I43. At theend of the conveyor boom H float and ballast tanks l25are provided which may be manipulated by means of an air compressor andby conduits and pipes (not shown) in order to furnish the required loador the required buoyancy by filling or emptying the tanks, in order tokeep the boom on or near the bottom of the river bed or in order toraise it to the desired extent. The lower edges and the lateral edges ofthe body 330i the boom are preferably well rounded and they may beprovided with a bullnose. Preferably they are streamlined in order tooffer as little resistance as possible to the water flowing around it.

The barge it is provided with a hoisting device consisting of cables orchains 53 running over rollers fixed on a sheave 52 which is connectedto the boom by chains 54. The chains 54 are lifted by the sheave 52,when the cables 53 are reeled by the winches 55. They are manipulated byoperating the winch in order to lift the boom above water level. Liftingof the boom above water level is required during the transport of thebarge it and at the start of the operation and when starting a newstrip, this lifted position being indicated in Figure l.

The boom may be completely covered with sheet iron plates which aresuitably shaped and streamlined around their edges. In this cover anejector The adjacent The laying of the revetment starts, as a rule,above the water line. For a starting operation the boom H is firstlowered into the water by means of the winches 55, cables 53 and chains5 and by manipulating the buoyancy and ballast tanks 48. The preliminarylowering of the boom is however only necessary at the start of theoperation and need not be repeated each time when the plant is shiftedand the operation start above the water level.

The preliminary lowering of the boom at the start serves the purpose offilling the jackets of pans with water and of producing a series ofblocks which are cooled to the right point.

The preparation of the mixture proceeds in the customary asphalt plantand does not differ from the preparation of a mixture of bituminousmatter for other purposes. The mixture, as already mentioned, consistsof asphalt and sand or of asphalt, sand and gravel to which mixture amineral filler or powdered loess may be added. Ordinary bar run sand dugfrom the sand bars of the river in the vicinity of which revetment maybe used so the larger part of the materials are drawn from localsources.

The mixture after having been prepared in the customary manner isdelivered to and filled into the bins ll of the bin barge and may bekept there in a heated condition.

From the bins IT the hot mixture is delivered to the hoppers 32 by meansof the derricks iii. The mixture is distributed uniformly and evenlywithin the feeding box 33 by screw conveyors 3 3 opening 5? is providednear the lower end through which the blocks are ejected from theconveyor [0.

following.

and 34a and it then drops through the discharge end of the screed box 33into the water cooled pans 63 when they pass under the screed box, thescreed shoes 35 and plates [2! keeping the pans level full, but removingany surplus so that a smooth and even upper surface results. The panswhich are moved continuously past the lower end of the screed box 33have been sprayed with oil from oil pipe 12 before passing the screedbox 33 and on account of the oil film and of the difference oftemperature between the water cooled walls and the hot mixture the saidmixture will not adhere While cooling in the pans. The exposed surfaceof the pan filled with the asphalt mixture which is not cooled directlyby the jacket is sprayed with water ejected from tubes it which areplaced behind the screed box and this surface is therefore cooled assoon as the pan emerges from the screed blades iii.

The pans are further conveyed towards the end of the boom, theirposition being first maintained by means of the guide plates or railsit. While aligned their flanges overlap each other as above described.When leaving the guide rail they are suspended on the chain in asubstantiaily horizontal position and, while in this position, theyenter the water where they are further cooled to the desired extent. Thelength of the boom and the speed of the conveyor are so selected thatthe blocks are cooled to the desired degree when arriving at the lowerend of the boom.

After the pans on the upper section of the conveyor have all beenfilled, so that a series of blocks has been formed while the boom wassubmerged and when all the jackets of the pans have been filled withWater the operation may start from water level by lifting the boom andbringing it into a position which, as a rule, is higher than theposition which is shown in Figure 1. The operation may then start in theair and continue for some time in this way using the blocks which havebeen cooled in water and the water which has been filled into thejackets of the pans. As a rule, this phase of the operation in which theboom is lifted above water level is however short. The boom will verysoon be again submerged below water level. If work has to be carried outabove water level for a protracted period this submerging and hoistingoperation of the boom may be repeated.

During the regular operations the asphalt blocks harden at the surfaceso that a firm crust is formed surrounding a hot core when they ar-,rive at the lower end of the conveyor where the pansare overturned andthrow the asphalt blocks out of the pans into the river bed. Theadhesive properties of the blocks have not disappeared as the saidblocks are still heated from within. The blocks should arrangethemselves in such a manner that they overlap and, on account of thefact that they are still warm, they stick together and firmly adhere toeach other. This adhesion and a certain amount of plasticity does notdisappear when cooling sets in, this being mainly due to the asphaltmaterial which has been used. Therefore, a continuous mat or layer offirmly adhering blocks is formed merely by dropping the blocks in suchposition that they will adhere to each other.

It will be noted that the boom has to be lowered more or lesscontinuously while the barge is moved outwardly away from the river bankor embankment in order to form a strip of the revetment. When the boomis lowered or lifted only one end of the chain conveyor moves with theboom the other being fixed within the head I23 to the barge with thehead l23 moving around this fixed end. The adjustment of the chainconveyor to the position of the boom at this end is produced by amovement of the chains.

It will be clear that there are two means for regulating the laying ofthe revetment. One of these means is the regulation of the speed of theconveyor which is mainly used in order to adjust the temperature of theblocks discharged at the end of the boom. The second means consists inthe regulation of the speedof the outward travel of the barge I4 alongthe mooring barges which is performed as a rule by regulating the speedof the motor driving the cable winches. The regulation of this speedcontrols the thickness of the layer which is deposited and it istherefore seen that the thickness of the layer in the same strip mayvary in any desired way. The ease with which the variation of thethickness of the revetment is obtained helps greatly in producing arevetment of great durability.

When the barge I l has arrived at the point at which the submerged endof the boom has reached the toe of the revetment, a strip has beencompleted. The conveyor is then stopped and the boom is lifted, thebarge Hi travels inwardly toward the river bank or embankment and themooring barges are moored in a new position in which the boom startsagain to lay the revetment on the river bank above water level. Howeverin this case no preliminary lowering of the boom is necessary, as asufficient number of cooled blocks is available on the conveyor when theboom is lifted and all of the water jackets of the pans are filled atthis time. Operations may therefore continue immediately after themaneuvering of the barge is completed. It is advisable to makeconsecutive strips overlap to a certain extent to obtain perfectcontinuity of the revetment. In the foregoing an operation was describedas starting at the bank and laying the strip outward into the river.However operations are most frequently carried out starting from the toeof the revetment in the river and working towards the bank. It seemshowever unnecessary to describe this operation in detail as the way ofhandling the apparatus is essentially the same, the handling at thestart being even simplified by this way of proceeding.

The revetment made of asphalt bonded blocks in the manner described hasa much greater durability than known revetments and requires lessmaintenance. The asphalt bonded blocks under the influence of a raisedtemperature form a mattress of strongly adhering elements conformingtheir shape to that of the adjacent elements and to the river bankimmediately after the laying operation takes place. The plasticity ofthe elements is maintained for some time and does not disappear when thetemperature has gone down and has reached the water temperature, thisbeing due to the nature of the bituminous material. The adaptation ofthe shape of the mattress and of its elements to the change of the riverbank and to the internal changes continues even after cooling.

The revetment plant as above described is useful for repairing andrestoring existing revetments. Existing revetments may be covered with afurther flexible continuous mattress which gives the desired protectioneither directly or by reinforcing and covering the existing revetment orwhat is left of it. The equipment may therefore be used for repairwithout any specific adaptation to the revetment originally laid.

It will be clear from the foregoing that the invention resides in thefeatures as above described and as claimed'in the annexed claims andthat it is not connected with specific constructive details of minorimportance which are unessential for the carrying into effect theprinciple which has been described above.

Having described the claimed as new is:

l. A revetment laying plant for making a protective cohesive coveringconsisting of separate independent block elements, adapting itself tothe sinuosities of a river bank or bed, comprising a floating barge, aboom pivotally mounted near one of its ends on said barge, the pivotedend of the boom being held by the barge above water level, means forlowering and raising the free end of the boom, and means for holding itat any selected angular position, means for molding a number ofcompletely separate, independent block units, said means including pansprovided with trunnions, freely suspended on said trunnions, said pansbeing completely closed on the sides and on the bottom, and each pancontaining a number of separate aligned block molds, said pans beingarranged transversely with respect to and aligned along the boom inclosely adjacent positions, endless carrying means for the freelysuspended pans, means for continuously advancing the said endlesscarrying means of the pans along the upper side of the boom from thepivoted end above water level to the free end and along the downwardlyfacing side of the boom, back to the pivoted end of the boom above waterlevel, means arranged near the said endless carrying means and near thepivoted end of the boom for filling the molds in the pans with a hotasphalt containing mixture, and means for ejecting separately andcontinuously the separate block elements formed in the block moldswithin invention, what is boom at predetermined spots in the river bedor on the river bank.

2. A revetment laying plant for making a protective covering consistingof separate single block elements, said covering adapting itself to thesinuosities of a river bank and bed, comprising a floating barge, a boompivotally mounted near one end of the same with its pivoted end abovewater level, means for molding a number of unconnected, completelyseparate and independent block units, said means including a pluralityof transversely aligned separate block molds each arranged within amolding pan, said molding pans being mounted transversely with respectto the boom and closely'adjacent each other, and forming a continuousendless series, along the upper, lower and end surfaces of the boom,endless means for freely suspending and carrying said pans, means formovingsaid last named means continuously along the upper and lowersurfaces of the boom and around its ends, means on said barge forfilling the block molds of each pan with a hot asphalt containingmixture while moved over the pivoted end of the boom by the meanssuspending and carrying the pans, ejection means near the free end ofthe boom for ejecting the block elements independently formed in theblock molds during the travel of the pans from the pivoted end of theboom to the free end of the same, and directional means producing anejection of the independent blocks in a predetermined direction, anddepositing them at predetermined spots below the free end of the boom inthe river bed or on the river bank.

3. A revetment laying plant for making a protective cohesive covering,consisting of separate independent block elements, adapting itself tothe sinuosities of the river bank and bed, comprising a floating barge,a boom pivotally mounted near one end on the same, the pivoted end beingabove water level, means for molding a number of completely separate,independent asphalt block units, including pans completely closed on thesides and the bottom and suspended on trunnions, each pan containing anumber of block molds aligned in a transverse row, said pans beingaligned transversely along the outer surfaces of the boom in a closelyadjacent position, endless conveying means carrying said pans whilefreely suspended, said freely suspended pans forming an uninterruptedseries along the said boom, means for moving said endless conveyingmeans continuously from the pivoted end towards the free end :of theboom and back towards the pivoted end, means arranged on the barge abovethe boom for filling a hot viscous asphalt containing mixture into eachof said separate block molds while the latter are moved over thepivotally mounted end of the boom, and means for ejecting said blockelements from said block molds in a definite direction when the panscarried by the continuously moving endless conveying means reach apredetermined point on the boom near the free end of the same.

4. A revetment laying plant for making a protective cohesive covering,consisting of separate independent and unconnected block elements,adapting itself to the sinuosities of a river bank and bed, comprising afioating barge, a boom pivotally mounted near one end on said barge, theother end of the boom being freely movable, means for raising andlowering the free end of the boom and for holding it in a preselectedangular position, an endless conveyor on said boom, means on saidconveyor for molding a number of completely separate and independentunconnected block units, including pans freely suspended on saidconveyor, said pans being completely closed on all sides and on thebottom, but open at the top, each pan containing a number of separateblock molds producing separate unconnected block elements when filledwith .a hot fluid viscous asphalt containing mixture, a screed boxmounted on the barge transversely with respect to the boom and having adischarge opening located above and in substantial parallelism with thepans, said screed box filling through its discharge opening the blockmolds during their passage with asphalt containing mixture, means fordistributing the asphalt containing mixture within the screed boxevenly, suspension means for the pans for holding the same freelysuspended in a substantially horizontal position during their movementfrom the pivoted end of said boom to the free end of said boom, meansfor ejecting the independently formed block elements from the blockmolds in the pan when the pans reach a definite point near the free endof the boom, said ejecting means including means for producing a suddencomplete tiltingof the pans at the free end of the boom, and directionalmeans for directing the independent blocks ejected from the mold in apredetermined direction, thus depositing them at regularly predeterminedspots relatively to the free end of the boom in the river bed or on theriver bank.

5. A revetment laying plant for making a cohesive protective coveringconsisting of separate, independent and unconnected block elementscovering the bank or bed of a river, which covering adapts itself to thesinuosities of said river bank or bed on which it is laid, comprising afloating barge, a boom pivotally mounted near its end on said barge withthe pivoted end of the boom above water level, a series of independentblock molds held within pans, transversely arranged with respect to saidboom, said pans forming an uninterrupted series along the upper andunder surfaces of the boom, means: for freely balanced positiondetermined by gravity, on the upper surface of the boom, means forcontinuously moving said suspending and carrying means of said pans fromthe pivoted end of the boom towards the free end and then back to thepivoted end, a screed box filled with a hot fluid viscous asphaltcontaining mixture, said screed box consisting of an elongated containerwith an elongated opening arranged transversely with respect to the boomand in substantial parallelism to the pans, adjacent to the molds whichare conveyed over the pivoted end of the boom, a feed box and adistributing screw conveyor within said screed box, distributing saidhot viscous asphalt containing mixture evenly along the screed box, andejection means on the free end of the boom ejecting the block elementsformed in the molds during their passage from the pivoted end to thefree end in a given direction, said means including directional meansdepositing the block elements at regularly predetermined spots near thefree end .of the boom in the river bank or in the river bed.

6. A revetment laying plant for making protective covering as claimed inclaim provided I with a screed shoe including a screed plate, movable onthe screed box, said screed shoe resting on the pans and holding saidscreed plate against the upper edge of the pan during the passage of thelatter over the pivoted end of the boom to screed on the overflowingmaterial running into the molds from the screed box.

7 A revetment laying plant as claimed in claim 5 wherein an oil sprayingnozzle is arranged in front of the screed box and a Water sprayingnozzle is arranged behind the screed box in order to lubricate themolding pans before their passage under the screed box and in order tocool the surface of the filled molding pans.

8. A revetment laying plant for making a cohesive protective coveringconsisting of separate, independent unconnected block elements for thebank and bed of a river, adapting itself to the sinuosities of the saidriver bank or bed on which it is laid, comprising a floating barge, aboom pivotally mounted near one of its ends on said barge, with thepivoted end above Water level, a series of independent block moldsarranged in rows within pans transversely arranged along the boom andforming an uninterrupted series along the same, means for freelysuspending and carrying said pans, said means including trunnions on thepans,-ireely suspending the same, and endless chains provided withtrunnion holders for holding said trunnions of the pans in a freelyrotatable manner, means moving said pan carrying and suspending meanscontinuously from the pivoted end of the boom to the free end and backto the pivoted end, driving sprocket wheels and idle sprocket wheels atthe pivoted end and at the free end of the boom, respectively, for

holding and guiding said chains, means for driving said driving sprocketwheels, guide rollers on the chains, a guiding rail on the barge nearthe pivotally mounted end of the boom on said barge, guiding a sectionof said chains along a straight horizontal line between the sprocketwheels at the pivoted end and at the free end of the boom in everyangular position of the boom, a screed box mounted on the bargetransversely with respect to the boom and having a discharge openinglocated above and adjacent to the pans, said screed box being arrangedclose to and above the section of the chains guided along a straightline, means for filling said screed box with a hot fluid viscous asphaltcontaining mixture, said screed box discharging said mixture into theblock molds and filling them with the mixture when passing under thescreed box, thus producing independent, unconnected hardened blockelements within the said block molds during the movemen of the blockmolds from the pivoted end of the boom to the free end of the boom, andejection means on the free end of the boom for ejecting said separateblock elements in a given direction.

9. A revetment laying plant as claimed in claim 8 comprisingadditionally a pan guiding rail on said barge for aligning the freelysuspended pans so that their upper faces are substantially in the sameplane, while conveyed along the chain section guided by the chain guidedrail.

10. A revetment laying plant as claimed in claim 8 comprisingadditionally a pan guiding rail section on the barge below the pans foraligning the freely suspended pans so that their upper faces aresubstantially in the same horizontal plane while conveyed over theguided chain section, said pan guiding rail section being arranged neara section of the conveyor adjacent to and leading from the drivingsprocket wheel at the pivoted end of the boom, further pan guiding railsections arranged at an angle with respect to the aforesaidsubstantially horizontal rail section, guiding the pans so that theyadopt successively inclined and vertical positions, said last namedguiding rail sections leading towards the driven sprocket wheel at thepivoted end of the boom.

11. A revetment laying plant as claimed in claim 8 comprising inaddition pan guiding rails arranged along the under surface of the boom,in substantial parallelism to the endless chains, said pan guiding railskeeping the freely suspended pans in alignment with the chain and withthe downwardly facing surface of the boom, and a guiding plate facingthe guiding rail and forming part of a channel within the boom throughwhich the pans are moved towards the pivoted end of the boom.

12. A revetment laying plant as claimed in claim 8 comprising inaddition a guide rail for the pans at the free end of the boom betweenand near the idle sprocket wheels at this end, said guide rails beingcurved around the center of the idle sprocket wheel and producing suddentilting of the pans in order to eject the separate unconnected blocksformed in the pan, said boom being further provided at its free end withan ejection channel leading towards the undersurface of the boom at thisend for the passage of the ejected hardened asphalt containing blocks ina predetermined direction relatively to the free end of the boom.

13. A pan for a revetment laying plant as claimed in claim 8 withsubstantially unbroken outer side walls and a bottom wall comprising anumber of transverse separate compartments each provided with separateside walls and bottom wall, each compartment forming a block mold, saidblock mold being surrounded by the side walls and the bottom wall of thepan, the space between the side and bottom wall of the molds and theside walls and bottom wall of the pan forming a water jacket for coolingpurposes.

14. A pan as claimed in claim 13, in which the outer Wall of the panenclosing the Water jacket is provided with an opening in the side ofthe wall, leading during the movement of the pan and adapted to collectwater during its travel along the boom.

15. A revetment laying plant as claimed in claim 8, wherein anadditional guide for the molding pans i arranged in the ejection channelfacing the guide rail arranged between and near the sprocket wheels, forguiding the upper portion of the molding pans during the tilting of thesame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS BailyOct. 26, 1943

